Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers at training camp on Aug. 1, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy waxed poetic about his 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a recent interview with Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports.
McCarthy thinks Rodgers has two things that will help him defeat Father Time in 2026 — his intellect and arm strength.
“His mind’s incredibly sharp,” McCarthy said. “But I’ll be honest with you, his ball play in this camp has been top-notch. Obviously, I’ve coached a lot of football with him, but his ability to place the football… I’m not saying he lost any velocity on the ball, but if he has, it’s definitely made up for with his anticipation.
“So he’s getting the ball where it needs to be, on time. He’s having a hell of a camp.”
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers lines up for a play during a training camp practice. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
McCarthy, who was Rodgers’ head coach for 13 years in Green Bay, is happy to have a full circle moment with his quarterback.
“It’s super cool, just to be able to be part of his final chapter. It’s awesome,” McCarthy told Vacchiano. “But I think he definitely fits the culture here. So yes, I think it’s a great story.
“But I think we just want to win. Let’s go win and do the things that we need to do to win. And he’s such a competitor. I love the time, once we cross the white lines, when we get to just go out there and compete. And he is one of the greatest to ever play the game.”
McCarthy was also hired for life after Rodgers, though, and that includes finding his eventual replacement.
The Steelers are hoping that comes in the form of one of their backup quarterbacks Will Howard or Drew Allar. Luckily, McCarthy believes Rodgers’ presence is already paying off in that department.
“Conceptually, he’s pretty much done it all. He’s played 20,000 reps of live football in the NFL,” McCarthy said on SiriusXM NFL Radio earlier this month. “But the way he pours himself out to his teammates. It’s been very unique and you can just see the urgency in his everyday prep. It’s been cool.”
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